What is the average time for self assist debarkation these days?

[Velvetwater]

Hi

 

Sailing out of NOLA next month. Flight is at 1pm instead of the 6pm  (thanks AA for changing that).

 

We always take our own luggage off but worried we won't make the flight.  Would also appreciate any CCL airport shuttle advice. 

 

Normal cabin within FTTF.

 

Thank you

 

 

Edited July 16, 2022 by Velvetwater

[shof515]

on my previous cruise, self assist debarkation went by muster station and it took forever to get off the ship. i was in muster e which seem to be like last or near the last muster station. did not get off the ship until after 9am after they already called a few zone numbers

[nydney1]

In March we were in the car by 9:30 and we parked at the Fulton garage.

In June we were in the car by 10:00 off the Legend/Baltimore

[Velvetwater]

Damn. Would prefer 8.30ish.

[kalmich]

A lot of time it depends on Customs.  Really hard to predict.  I personally would not book a return flight before noon.

[Colorado Beach Bum]

You should be more than fine with a 1pm flight. 

[jetsfan58]

Be careful as it appears that the self debarkation is taking longer and longer. Last Cruise we got off at 10:30 AM

[nwcruiselover]

I got off the Splendor in Seattle on 7/12.  They called self-assist by muster station, and partway through they started calling luggage tag numbers at the same time.  By the time they had gotten to luggage tag #15, they finally called muster station D, which I believe was the last one.  Shortly thereafter they called all luggage tag numbers.  The result was a seemingly endless line snaking through the ship.  We were among the highest luggage tag numbers, and we were off the ship at about 9:35.

Edited July 17, 2022 by nwcruiselover

[iria64]

The big question is, how strict are they during debarkation.  If you are doing self-assist, are they really going to stop you from leaving the ship if your muster station is not yet called?

[NHNEV2003]

We just returned from our Liberty cruise at Port Canaveral and we were off the ship, through customs, on a bus, and at MCO before 9:00AM.

 

This was the easiest debarkation we've ever had.

[Velvetwater]

Thanks all. It's annoying not having FTTF when we really need it.

 

Might just have to go to guest services and register our flight time if you can still do that.

[CruisinCrow]

It took 2 hours on our Freedom cruise last month.  They called the self-assist groups by muster station and we were station H.  They made us leave our cabin at 8:30, so we were sitting in the hallway for an hour and a half.  It was a complete mess.

[CruisinCrow]

On 7/16/2022 at 9:49 PM, iria64 said:

The big question is, how strict are they during debarkation.  If you are doing self-assist, are they really going to stop you from leaving the ship if your muster station is not yet called?

 

While we were waiting for them to call our muster station, they made an announcement that if people tried to leave before their station was called, they would be sent back.  So we waited it out for 2 hours but then later some people in my Facebook cruise group said they just got in the line anyway and no one stopped them.  YMMV

[luc122]

10 hours ago, CruisinCrow said:

It took 2 hours on our Freedom cruise last month.  They called the self-assist groups by muster station and we were station H.  They made us leave our cabin at 8:30, so we were sitting in the hallway for an hour and a half.  It was a complete mess.

We had the same thing getting of the legend. 
there are just so many people on every deck waiting in hallways, near the stairwells, that even when you’re called, you can’t get through all the people. 
 

We drove, so no flight to catch, but I wonder if it would have been better to just go to the theater very early and wait

till the boat is almost empty. It would beat standing in a crowded deck with people getting antsy, (which is understandable too). 

[cruizergal70]

On 7/16/2022 at 4:32 PM, kalmich said:

A lot of time it depends on Customs.  Really hard to predict.  I personally would not book a return flight before noon.

Customs is quick if you have Pre-check. 

[BallFour4]

The new facial scan here in Galveston meant we didn't slow down for US Customs. No forms, no questions, zero. Home by 9:30AM for self-assist priority debark.
.

[cruizergal70]

On 7/16/2022 at 9:49 PM, iria64 said:

The big question is, how strict are they during debarkation.  If you are doing self-assist, are they really going to stop you from leaving the ship if your muster station is not yet called?

I generally walk off when I want. I'm by myself with one small carryon.  Just get there early when the first passengers are leaving and walk off. I've walked off usually before 8 am if there weren't any problems docking.

[Purvis1231]

On 7/16/2022 at 7:43 AM, Velvetwater said:

Hi

 

Sailing out of NOLA next month. Flight is at 1pm instead of the 6pm  (thanks AA for changing that).

 

We always take our own luggage off but worried we won't make the flight.  Would also appreciate any CCL airport shuttle advice. 

 

Normal cabin within FTTF.

 

Thank you

 

 

A few weeks ago, we did self-assist from deck Everyone in the lower deck rode up before going down so it took us two hours to get on an elevator. We will not do self-assist since when we finally got off the ship we had to walk right through where all the check bags were stored. If we had checked our bags and took the stairs it would have greatly reduced our wait time. 

[cruizergal70]

56 minutes ago, Purvis1231 said:

A few weeks ago, we did self-assist from deck Everyone in the lower deck rode up before going down so it took us two hours to get on an elevator. We will not do self-assist since when we finally got off the ship we had to walk right through where all the check bags were stored. If we had checked our bags and took the stairs it would have greatly reduced our wait time. 

Take the stairs down.

[Purvis1231]

2 hours ago, cruizergal70 said:

Take the stairs down.

Right next time we will take the stairs down without all the luggage but this time we were on deck 12 with a larger suitcase and several smaller ones. 

[DrSea]

For those with early flights, you can disembark first regardless of your muster station letter. Just ask your room steward/guest services and they can help you out. It is very early and I am late to everything lol.

 

You should make your 1pm flight no problems.

[Lee Cruiser]

We were on the Valor out of N.O. in January.  We are platinum and did checked luggage.  For those who were not platinum/ diamond self-assist started at 7:25 a.m.  Not sure how long it took for everyone. They typically try to have everyone off the ship before 10 as they start boarding around 10:40 or so.  I doubt it will be, but if FTTF is back by next month, you would get to go right after platinum, which would have been shortly before the 7:25 for that cruise.  We went down to our meeting area for platinum checked luggage at 8 and were able to go right off the ship. If you have a passport, N.O. has the facial recognition system, so going through customs is a breeze.

 

We drove to N.O., so can't answer specifically about the shuttle.  But, I would usually recommend using an Uber or taxi.  I'm sure that as with most Carnival shuttles, they wait until the bus is full before they leave.  We made that mistake last year in Miami because we were not in a hurry.  However, we would never do that again.  We would have made it to the airport at least 40 minutes earlier had we taken an Uber.  Not only did we wait 25 minutes for the bus to fill up before leaving, they made multiple stops at that airport and made everyone wait on the bus until they had unloaded all of the luggage at each stop.

 

Regardless of the whether FTTF  is back or not you shouldn't have any problem making a 1 p.m. flight.  The airport is only about 30 minutes from the port in N.O.